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“X-Men Days of Future Past Review”

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X-Men Days of Future Past Review

X-Men Days of Future Past is director Bryan Singer’s return to the popular superhero franchise and is the seventh film in the franchise, if you include The Wolverine solo films. Does Bryan Singer prove that he is the right man to helm this franchise and make us all forget X-Men: The Last Stand even exists? Let’s find out in my review of X-Men Days of Future Past.

*WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

Okay right off the bat I will say that this was my most anticipated movie of the 2014 summer movie season. When I found out Bryan Singer was returning to direct, I had high hopes for this film, and let me tell you, he does not disappoint. Without spoiling too much of the movie the music in the opening credits is none other than John Ottman’s X2: X-Men United theme, letting the audience know “Bryan and I are back, don’t worry.” From that moment on, you are sucked in. If you haven’t seen any of the movie trailers for Days of Future Past, the premise is about being able to change the past to create a better future for mutants and mankind. In the future, mutants are being hunted by robots, called “sentinels,” and the mutants are becoming an endangered species so to speak. Professor X (Sir Patrick Stewart), along with Magneto (Sir Ian McKellan) hatch a plan to send someone back in time to 1973, to stop an event that will lead to this dark and hopeless future. That someone is of course Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Now I won’t go into anymore of the plot because I believe this movie is something that should be experienced. I will just talk about my overall impressions of the film, as well as what I thought about the different aspects of the film.

I won’t sugarcoat it folks, I loved this movie! The plot is more complicated than I initially thought it would be and the acting in this film is superb! Okay now I’ll go into more detail with what I thought about the different aspects of the film.

Plot : X-Men Days of Future Past has a complicated plot, but that is not a bad thing. We have this 2023 dystopian/post-apocalyptic future where mutants are hunted by robots, and we also have this 1973 timeline, where there is a sense of urgency to make sure this dystopian sentinel controlled future never happens. We also have Wolverine being sent back to 1973 to convince a depressed, hopeless, lonely and lost Professor X (James McAvoy) to help him stop this dark future from ever happening, along with the help of Magneto (Michael Fassbender). This all works great, because we get to the see the juxtaposition of the same characters but in two different times and it makes for a very entertaining time at the movies. There is also a little sub-plot with Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) that I won’t get into for fear of spoiling the film.

Acting : The acting in this film is incredible. Hugh Jackman owns the role of Wolverine, and he isn’t just an angry jerk in this film, there is some depth to Wolverine in this film, which is great to see. James McAvoy is amazing as Charles Xavier/Professor X and he really does a phenomenal job of portraying a tortured, depressed and broken man, and you can see it in his eyes. Michael Fassbender is also amazing in this film. Thankfully there was no Irish Magneto in this film, rewatch X-Men First Class and you will know exactly what I mean. It’s the scene where all the mutants are on the beach and Magneto says “I can feel their guns moving in the water.” Fassbender really tried to sound like a young Ian McKellan in this film and you can tell, I didn’t see Michael Fassbender when I watched this film, I saw Magneto and that is quite an accomplishment on his part. Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan return as seasoned versions of Professor X and Magneto. They both are just such amazing actors, even though they have less screen time than their younger versions (McAvoy and Fassbender). It’s so touching to see them as friends in this film, and they realize that despite their different philosophical views on humanity, that they need to join forces to stand against the sentinels. Peter Dinklage plays one of the villains in the film, Bolivar Trask, the inventor of the mutant hunting sentinels, and I think he did a very good job at portraying a man who honestly believed that mutants were a threat that needed to be dealt with. His motivations are explained in the film, and I feel that he was a pretty good villain. Jennifer Lawrence is great in this film and you can really start to see her growing into the role. When I saw her on screen I saw “Mystique,” and not the actress Jennifer Lawrence, which just shows how talented of an actress she is. Finally, Evan Peters (American Horror Story) has a standout performance as Quicksilver and there is one particular scene with him that had me laughing hysterically. I was worried about Quicksilver because I saw him in that Carl Juniors ad and he looked so goofy! Luckily I was dead wrong and he is one of the best parts of the movie.

Direction : Bryan Singer does a great job in his return to the X-Men film franchise. The acting scenes are directed amazingly and he knows how to sprinkle in some humor when it’s needed, because this is a dark film and Singer needs to give the audience some light moments. Singer also is familiar with these comic book characters and it shows. Bryan Singer gives Brett Ratner a giant middle finger, who ruined X-Men, with X-Men: The Last Stand. I for one am glad Bryan Singer is back directing X-Men.

Music : John Ottman collaborates with Bryan Singer on a lot of his projects, much like Hans Zimmer collaborates with Christopher Nolan on a lot of his films. Ottman provides the score for X-Men Days of Future Past, and he does a pretty good job. There is a theme that plays when Wolverine is trying to get the young Charles Xavier to believe in himself again and it is very beautiful and touching. I will even admit it had me tearing up a little. I will say though, that I really do miss Henry Jackman, his X-Men theme was incredible and that Magneto theme was awesome!

My final verdict is that X-Men Days of Future Past is a 10/10. Surprisingly this film is more story driven and does not rely on action to capture its audience’s attention. I have very few gripes with the film, and I believe it is one of the best superhero movies ever made and just one of the best movies ever made. If you have not seen this film, go see it! If you are not a fan of comic book movies, you will still enjoy this film! It’s got great acting, a great story, and great action, what more could you ask for?! What do you think? Have you seen the movie? Will you see the movie? Sound off in the comments, let me know me what you think, and if you did see the film what you thought about it.